WALK 'N' SNIFF: Artisan Collection

So this afternoon I went into The City to meet a friend for lunch but beforehand since I had some extra time, I decide to trek over to BBW since it was in the general area and get my huff on.

You know I hate to be a Negative Nancy but initially I wasn't too intrigued with this collection to begin with; as I have stated before I'm not particularly into foodie/bakery/gourmand type scents. I only wanted to sniff them for the sake of appeasing my curiousity. The one scent that I contemplated buying, I'm still unsure if I like it...but we'll get to that in a bit.

So let's begin...

Banana Nutmeg Bread Pudding
So this bad boy seems to be everybody's panty dropper. E'rybody has been goin nuts over this candle...except me. I don't really like banana scents but I still wanted to give it the benefit of doubt and see what everybody has been clamorin about. So to me, it doesn't smell at all like bread pudding. As a native New Orleanian, I have eaten my fair share of bread pudding and I know what it smells like..not like this scent! It does however smell like banana pudding...like homemade Bill Cosby pudding pop Jello pudding from a box. I'm hardepressed to say that I smelled nutmeg..maybe..a pinch? I got vanilla sweetened banana pudding with those Nilla vanilla wafer cookies . It's a nice pleasant scent and I can certainly see why everybody is creamin their panties for this one.

Blackberry Bramble Tea
This is another one that is getting everybody excited. Many have said that this smells like Blueberry Pumpkin Batch ..and after smelling it, I kinda have to agree. It's definitely not a legit repackage. However the blackberry note in this is veeeerrrry similar to the blueberry note in BPB. It also has that same unexplained earthiness that BPB has. You do get a nice genuine black tea note in the background...think sorta like London Calling but more like Raspberry Sun Tea and Peachy Tea from back in the day. If you liked BPB and are pissed that it's not back this year, BBT would make a nice replacement.

Sea Salt & Maple Popcorn
Another seemingly popular one. Now when I first heard about this one, I thought for sure it would be a repackage of Toffee Glazed Popcorn or Toffee Crunch. However too many people were sayin that this actually smelled like Summer/American Boardwalk. I thought to myself "No, BBW couldn't be that lazy." But alas, it does indeed smell like Summer/American Boardwalk, a repackage with a twist if you will. It's a little more salty and there is an apple note, I dunno if that's on purpose or not, but that apple note is definitely there. The only difference is that there is a bit of a sweet sticky maple-y note on top. So yeah think Salted Caramel mixed with Summer Boardwalk with a toned down apple note mixed with a little maple.

Bourbon Butterscotch
*sigh I'm just not a fan of BBW's caramel/toffee/butterscotch scents, never have been and never will be. They're just soooo cloyingly sweet and ooey-gooey; I'd fall into a diabetic coma after one sniff. However this one is that bad. It's very very similar to Hot Buttered Rum but 10x better! It's very rich and smooth and creamy with a little hint of a sweetened brown alcohol note. I dunno if this is a definite repackage of HBR but there's no denying that the two are quite similar.

Cayenne Caramel
Again I reiterate that I can't stand caramel/toffee/butterscotch scents. Like with the aforementioned  Bourbon Butterscotch, I was initially very leery to huff it lest it raise my blood sugar level to dangerous heights. However I was intrigued that cayenne was in this scent. It essentially smells like your standard BBW-ian take on caramel. And the cayenne note wasn't nearly as intense and peppery and piquant as I thought it would be; it's actually quite mild. This is basically Salted Caramel sans the salt with a bit of a peppery kick.

Wasabi Apple
So under normal circumstances, I love fresh green apple scents. However when I saw "wasabi" , honestly it scared me. Really?! Wasabi? Why?! However after smellin it, its not that bad. But it's not good either. It's not the fresh crisp juicy "Apple Crumble" true green apple note that I was hopin for. It's very much an artificial Jolly Rancher/Pucker's Sour Apple liqueur type scent. And that scary wasabi isn't that bad, not nearly as intensely spicy as I thought it would be. However, this combination just smells too close to that horrid God awful Green Apple Orchard candle. And just like that hot mess, WA just smells off and wrong! I mean it's nice to have an apple scent without the typical overdone cinnamon and/or caramel notes you get in fall but I think wasabi was a wrong choice. They should've just used something like honey or lavender or thyme or basil..I dunno....

Vanilla Chai
And lastly, the one candle that I was genuinely interested in and considered buying...ironically it wound up being the candle I disliked the most. I will say that this truly smells like real legit genuine chai spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, etc. However that's what I disliked about this scent - those spices are KILLER! They're waaaayyy too strong and overpowering. And there was something sharp in that blend that assaulted my nose alllll the wrong way. It was hoping that it would more creamy/milky/frothy, like a spicier Pumpkin Caramel Latte sans the caramel. It doesn't so much smell like a drink but just a pile of the spices themselves. As far as spicy scents go, I personally think that Kitchen Spice and Creamy Nutmeg smell better than this. I may have to resniff this one  just to make sure, but I'm almost certain that I lean towards disliking this one.

Unfortunately there were none of the so-called "unicorn" candles.. Malted Pistachio Truffle (which supposedly smells like a nuttier version of Mint Chocolate) and Chestnut Glazed Croissant (which supposedly smells like a sweeter French Baguette). Supposedly these two will be appearing in store in the next couple of weeks. If you don't feel like waiting, they are both available on Evil-bay..no surprise there!

So yeah in conclusion, as a whole this collection wasn't so bad. They were (for the most part) kinda nice but none of them grabbed ahold of me and made wanna buy em. Frankly there are far more better fall candles coming out that are truly worth my attention.

Comments

  1. Hi there - I've been lurking for a while and really appreciate your take on all things BBW candles!

    I had the exact same reaction you did to Vanilla Chai. I love chai and was sure I'd be into that candle but there was something very weird about it that just didn't work for me - an icky sharpness that I didn't expect.

    I made it to White Barn last week and was able to do a quick sniff of Malted Pistachio Tuffle and Chestnut Glazed Croissant. The SA told me she thought MPT smelled like Rocher candies and it REALLY does - the pistachio reads as a nut butter note, so I definitely could compare it to chocolate hazelnut balls or Nutella.

    CGC, sadly, was just BAD to my nose. Very savory, and foody, not sweet at all. Honestly it reminded me of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls - a great smell when you're about to eat them, but for me, it just doesn't work in candle form. : )

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    1. Hey there! I love meetin lurkers! Thanks for checkin my lil blog out!

      I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Vanilla Chai was too sharp. If that weirdness wasn't there and it was just a bit more creamy and frothy like PCL, Vanilla Chai would've been my jam. But alas, that's not the case!
      It's so funny, everybody has different takes on MPT; some people say Mint Chocolate with nuts or Peanut M&Ms, or Rocher truffles. Either way, sounds amazing! I can't wait for it to finally pop in my local stores.

      Yeah, that's what I'm worried about with CGC. Too many people say that it smells like French Baguette, which I did not like cuz it was just too savory. I'll definitely be passing on that one!

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    2. bytheby, your screename...is that a reference to the Sailormoon live action musicals? There was a character in one of the musicals called MCFly

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  2. I definitely hope to see MPT in stores soon. I'm a little bit regretting not picking one up. I just happened to be near White Barn, I don't actually live anywhere near one.

    It's so interesting how candle stock varies between BBW stores right now. I was out at a mall I don't normally go to yesterday for 2 for $22 and they had more fall stuff than I've seen elsewhere. Can't wait!

    My screen name definitely could be a Sailor moon reference! But it's a Back to the Future reference. : )

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    1. Ohhh duh, I didn't even think of that. That makes sense

      Well I heard thru the grapevine that MPT and CGC should be hitting all stores startin Labor Day weekend. Fingers crossed!

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  3. I picked up a Bourbon Butterscotch mini a few weeks ago when BBW was offering the free mini candle and that bad boy filled up my entire house. Yes, a mini that had a good throw!

    BUT....

    It was really sweet smelling. I almost couldnt stand it. I havent burned it a second time. While I liked the throw of this mini candle, I will not be buying the 3-wick. It was just too sweet for me.

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  4. See, that's my problem with all of that cloying sugary ooey-gooey caramel/butterscotch/toffee scents...it's just too much, too sweet.

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